• Its appearance is related to the excessive consumption of alcohol, red meat and shellfish.
• The IMSS medical service at its First Level of care allows a timely diagnosis of this condition.
The Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) called on the adult population, mainly men of productive age, to prevent gout disease through a healthy diet and avoid excessive consumption of alcohol, red meat and shellfish, in addition to carrying out some sport or physical activity and go regularly to your family doctor for a review of the person’s state of health.
The specialist in Internal Medicine of the Hospital General de Zona (HGZ) No. 30, Dr. José Roberto Chévez Cruz, pointed out that gout is a type of arthritis that occurs due to excessive protein intake, which causes an increase in uric acid. in the blood and accumulates in joints and tendons, which causes painful inflammation.
“In the general population, it affects four times more men, especially middle-aged men, although it also manifests itself in women during menopause; being that Mexicans are more susceptible to this type of metabolic problems ”, she indicated.
He reported that excessive consumption of alcohol, red meat and shellfish increases uric acid in the blood, an element that is normally disposed of by the body thanks to the excretory function of the kidneys, but when it occurs at high levels, the elimination capacity of the organism is overwhelmed. .
Chévez Cruz explained that the organism, having excess uric acid, becomes transformed into crystals that are deposited in the joints, predominantly in the elbows, knees and hands, and that in the long term can produce deformities with the presence of nodulations and limitation of movements of the affected joints.
He stressed that other factors that cause the appearance of the disease are: diabetes mellitus, obesity and sometimes heart conditions, such as high blood pressure.
The Social Security specialist explained that the main symptoms of gout are: redness, swelling or edema that hinder the mobility of the joints, especially the fingers and toes, knees, ankles and heel.
He explained that joint pain becomes intense and suddenly appears, for this reason the patient requires immediate attention, since many of the cases can cause temporary disability.
In this sense, it invited the adult population to maintain a healthy lifestyle, through a healthy diet and physical activation, in addition to going to their corresponding Family Medicine Unit (UMF), to the PrevenIMSS Modules and to the scheduled consultation to be able to carry out frequent reviews and taking laboratory tests.
José Roberto Chévez said that to control gout it is important to diagnose it in a timely manner, for this the medical service provided by Social Security in its First Level of care allows modifications in the diet, follow-up or referral of the beneficiaries to Second or Third Level, if the case warrants it.
“The management offered by the IMSS for the control of gout, initially consists of reducing uric acid levels through medications that must be administered -depending on the case- accompanied by the use of anti-inflammatories to relieve pain in the joints, especially in cases of crisis”, he said.
He stressed that patients during their treatment should exercise regularly, maintain an adequate weight, according to their height and age, and add a diet to reduce the amount of uric acid in the blood, giving preference to natural foods instead of the processed.